The Twitter deal with Elon Musk has consistently generated headlines over the past few months. This time, Twitter shareholders have made their move – they have green lit the $44 billion takeover proposed by Musk.
A preliminary count indicated that an overwhelming 98.6% of shareholders voted in favor of the deal. Meanwhile, Musk has been doing his best to get the Twitter deal voided. From allegations of spam accounts to security issues, it is safe he would like to wash his hands off the social media site.
The Twitter Takeover Deal
Twitter shareholders have given their consent to the multi-billion-dollar deal initially proposed by Musk. In a written statement, the microblogging site revealed its approval. “Twitter stands ready and willing to complete the merger with affiliates of Mr. Musk immediately, and in any event, no later than on September 15, 2022, the second business day following the satisfaction of all conditions precedent, which is the timeline required by the merger agreement.”
They also clarified that Musk’s moves to terminate the agreement have been found invalid and without merit. Twitter shareholders called on Elon Musk to go ahead with the agreement and to complete the merger according to the terms and conditions agreed upon.
In April, Musk was quoted as saying that Twitter had “tremendous potential.” By August, Musk’s lawyers started claiming that the company “appears to have made false and misleading representations.” To say the relationship has soured would be akin to saying the grass is green.
The latest reason why Musk wants to back out of the deal is the severance payout made out to Twitter whistleblower and former security chief Peiter Zatko. The security head had alleged that the microblogging site was lax in protecting its users’ privacy which led to a major data breach. The company reportedly paid him close to $7 million with regards to lost compensation. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Zatko testified, “The company’s cybersecurity failures make it vulnerable to exploitation, causing real harm to real people.”
Musk’s legal team stated that the payout was in violation of the merger agreement, and hence the Twitter deal must be voided. Musk’s first attempt at terminating the Twitter deal was made in July, citing the number of bots and spam accounts. His team also stated that the company did not give him complete access to information. The terms include a $1 billion penalty in case any party backs out of the deal.
Twitter Updates
Last month, Twitter announced that it has redesigned its Spaces tab. After a few weeks of testing, the company is rolling out the feature to Twitter Blue subscribers.
For now, the feature is available to iOS users through Twitter Blue Labs on the app. It will be rolled out for Android users soon.
Twitter Blue will give subscribers access to the redesigned Twitter Spaces tab that has live and recorded Spaces, themed audio stations, and from now on Twitter podcasts. The Spaces Spotlight highlights a curated list of audio content.
Although the microblogging site has no intention of replacing dedicated podcast apps, through this initiative it wants to help frequent users find podcasts they like. Twitter Blue users will be able to use the like/ dislike feature to tell the company about their preferences and also browse through content curated topic-wise.
Blue subscribers often get early access to cool new features. They also get custom app icons, a custom navigation bar, a bookmarks folder, undo tweets, and ad-free articles.
The podcast-integrated Spaces tab is now available to Twitter Blue subscribers. Twitter Blue is currently priced at $2.99 per month in the US, but it will be hiked to $4.99 starting next month.
The company did not comment on when the podcast feature will be made available to regular users.
